July 10 through July 15 the

Gold Star Wives of America will

hold their 67th Annual Conven-

tion at the Holiday Inn in Fair-

born, OH. Widows and widow-

ers whose spouses died in the

time of conflict while serving in

the Armed Forces of the United

States, or as a result of service-

connected disabilities, are in-

vited to attend. Widows and

widowers of service personnel

from all ranks, races and creeds

make up the membership of the

organization.

Please contact Audrey Easter-

ling at 937-836-9005 or email

Gold Star Wives of America to hold 67th Convention in Ohio

Ohio Army, Guard, & Reserves

Survivor Outreach News

A p r i l 2 0 1 2 V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 2 U s e f u l S i t e s

www.ohiopgr.org

www.taps.org

www.militaryone source.com

www.honorand remember.org

www.tricare.mil

www.va.gov

www.familiesunitedmission.org

www.militaryfamily.org

http://ong.ohio.gov

www.myarmyone source.com

Ohio SOS

Coordinators:

Angela Brittain

Northern Ohio

614-336-4284

angela.k.brittain.ctr

@us.army.mil

Scott Creed

Central Ohio

614-336-7375

james.s.creed.ctr

@us.army.mil

Upcoming Events

Annual Memorial Ceremony…

The Columbus Statehouse Annual

Memorial Ceremony with Ohio’s

Governor and the Adjutant

General will be held this year on

Friday, May 25. The time has not

yet been determined.

Memorial Day 5K...

Sign up for the 2012 PVT Heath

Warner Running to Remember 5K

race being held on May 28th.

Visit www.pvtheathwarner.com for

more information and to register.

Candlelight Vigil at OVMP…

There will be a Memorial Day

Candlelight Vigil held at 9 p.m. on

May 28th at the Ohio Veterans

Memorial Park. Plan to attend this

moving event, and visit their web-

site at www.ovmp.org.

Concert in the Park Aug. 4…

Save the date! A 5k & 10k race, car

show and concert in the park are

being held August 4. For more de-

tails, visit www.ovmpconcert.com.

Financial

Counselor:

Robyn Mroszczyk

Fort Knox

502-624-1789

robyn.a.mroszczyk

@us.army.mil

National Study to Research Impact of Service

Member Death on Military Families

4audrey@yahoo.com. You can

also contact Madie Tillman at

937-258-2905, or email her at

gtillm56@aol.com. Both ladies

are co-chairs of the convention.

The national organization’s

website can be found at

www.goldstarwives.org. The e–

mail is info@goldstarwives.org.

The Gold Star Wives of America

is a congressionally chartered

organization and has been in

existence since 1945. National

headquarters can be reached at

P.O. Box 361986, Birmingham,

AL 35236, 888-751-6350.

April: Month of the Military Child Take time to remember the service,

patriotism, and support given by our

Military Children...and the sacrifice of

those who have lost their Mom or Dad.

Do something special for a Military

Child this month...and every month!

The Uniformed Services Univer-

sity of the Health Sciences Center

for the Study of Traumatic Stress

(USUHS) has been selected to

conduct the first ever congres-

sionally funded research project

entitled “The Impact of Service

Member Death on Military Fami-

lies: A National Study of

Bereavement.”

The goal is to provide a compre-

hensive understanding of the

unique characteristics of mili-

tary death that identifies the

different bereavement and loss

challenges and experiences of

military family members.

Spearheaded by experts in the

field, research staff will analyze

help-seeking behaviors, facili-

tate a questionnaire aimed at

understanding grief from the

point of view of different fam-

ily members, and conduct face

to face interviews. A distinctive

aspect of this study is biomarker

analysis, which will look at links

between genetic markers and

complicated grief reactions.

If the field researchers contact

Ohio’s Army Survivor Outreach

support coordinators, we will

make every effort to assist. This

process may involve contacting

you to ask for your willingness

to participate in the study.

S u r v i v o r O u t r e a c h S e r v i c e s w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / O h i o S O S

News You Can Use... TRICARE Retiree Dental Program…

The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program

(TRDP) invites you to sign up for elec-

tronic program updates, oral heath tips

and money-saving strategies. http://

www.roa.org/site/R?

i=Mzt4PdUuXIFNwfJYM7gXcA

Scholarship Information…

The DRS Guardian Scholarship Fund, ad-

ministered by The National Guard Educa-

tion Foundation, is accepting applications

until June 30, 2012, for 2– and 4-year

scholarship grants. Applicants must be a

dependent son or daughter of a National

Guard member who died in an operational

or training mission in support of Operation

Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Free-

dom, or Operation New Dawn. See the web-

site at www.drsguardianfund.org for more

application information. Other scholarships

can also be found at:

www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov, or

www.military.com/scholarship.

Retroactive Stop-Loss Pay Extension

Service Members and Veterans whose

military service was involuntarily extended

under the “Stop Loss” program between

the 9/11 terrorist attacks and September

30, 2009, are eligible for special retroac-

tive pay, and they now have more time to

apply for it. Eligible service members, Vet-

erans, and their beneficiaries now have

until October 21, 2012, to apply. Visit

www.defense.gov/stoploss for more infor-

mation and links.

O h i o A r m y , G u a r d , a n d R e s e r v e s

B e i g h t l e r A r m o r y 2 8 2 5 W e s t D u b l i n G r a n v i l l e R d . C o l u m b u s , O H 4 3 2 3 5

Great things are happening with the Ohio

Gold Star Family Association. Scott War-

ner, president of the organization, has

been working with students in the com-

munications program at Baldwin Wallace

College in Berea to develop a logo, Face-

book page, and other marketing materials.

With a goal of being able to provide Sur-

viving Family Members with emergency

financial assistance, networking opportu-

nities and emotional support, educational

scholarships, and events geared toward

Families who have lost their Service Mem-

ber, OGSFA will continue to participate in

activities throughout the state to increase

visibility and awareness.

Bob Woods, State Captain of the Ohio

Patriot Guard and member of the Ohio

Veterans Hall of Fame, serves on OGSFA’s

board of directors as vice president, and

Rich Mohr, of Buckeye Financial Solu-

tions, is the treasurer.

Ohio Gold Star Family Association (OGSFA) receives official IRS 501(c)3 status

Four Gates at Joint Systems Manufacturing in Lima named after four local Fallen Soldiers

Thank you so much!

Once again, Ohio Army Survivor Outreach

wants to say “thank you” to Francine

Hamric of North Canton and Brownie

Troop 2765 from Alum Creek Elementary

School in Lewis Center for helping us with

the mailing of this issue of our quarterly

newsletter. We are so grateful!!

Camp Corral 2012…

Golden Corral Restaurants has partnered

with 4-H Youth Development Group to

offer free camps for children of wounded

or fallen service members. This year, the

camp in Ohio will be held at Canter’s

Cave 4-H Camp in Jackson, OH, from

July 8 through July 13. For more infor-

mation or to register or make a donation,

visit www.campcorral.org.

The organization is currently in the initial

phases of planning a weekly television

broadcast, “The Military Connection,”

which will feature community events and

initiatives of interest to Gold and Blue Star

Families, as well as Veterans.

Undergraduate students in the Baldwin

Wallace communications program designed

the OGSFA logo, Facebook page and other

marketing materials.

The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center

located in Lima, is preparing to name four

gates at the Center after four local Soldiers

killed in action.

The concept, initiated by the head of secu-

rity at Joint Systems, will culminate in a

ceremony being planned for June 14, Flag

Day and also the Army’s 237th birthday.

SSG Zachary R. Wobler, SPC Christian M.

Neff, CPT Dennis L. Pintor, and SGT Jon

Michael Schoolcraft III, will have their pho-

tos and information about their service

displayed on a plaque installed at each gate.

“I am so proud of the patriotism in our area,

and all over Ohio,” said Bill Neff, father of

SPC Christian Neff.